Hellan silently watched shin read the random book he had taken from the shelf. He flipped the page as he faked interest in the book after flipping the page for the third time, he tossed the book behind him and reached for the snacks placed on the short table. He took the whole bowl and lifted his legs up to the seat.
'Why don't you sit down' He threw a snack into his mouth. He kept doing this while Hellan kept watching asking herself whether truly the man was a higher being. Then she shook the thoughts from her head when she remembered the man's icy voice. He tossed another treat and caught it with his mouth.
'It's been long ever since I've been around' He started as he chewed and threw another treat into his mouth. 'This place is still a dump though' He chuckled and caught another treat. 'So…what's changed?'
'What do you mean?' Hellan asked. The man in front of her might seem nonchalant, childlike even as he seemed now but Hellan wasn't naïve enough to treat him as such. He might be happily catching treats in the air like a toddler now but all it took was a wrongly placed word and he might go on a rampage. Hellan didn't really know anything about shin but her research told her higher beings are to be treated with the utmost respect and caution regardless of their behaviour.
'It's been a few years since I've bothered with knowing anything. So what has changed in the last…Let's start with the last millennia' He said this still draining the snack bowl.
'Hmmm. I am not really sure what happened for thousand years…' Hellan started when shin cut her off.
'You don't know what happened in the last thousand years? How are you even useful?' Shin basically called Hellan useless while throwing a treat into his mouth. Hellan's blood pressure was quickly rising a few more insults and she would burst a vein.
'Sorry I wasn't around then…' Hellan immediately recognized her mistake and shrunk back. But Shin didn't miss a treat.
'Yeah I almost forgot you're a fragile mortal' he spoke while chewing. 'How old are you even?' It was technically an insult but it's never what you say but how you say it and shin meant every word as a jab to Hellan's pride. 'No don't bother answering,'
'Last I was here, there was a lizard helping some boy.' The bowl was now empty so he put it down. 'What was his name again…' he tapped his forehead genuinely trying to remember. 'I can't remember his name… I can't even remember if he was a he' He laughed. 'I haven't used this thing in a while' He said this while tapping his head.
'A lizard?' Hellan innocently asked as usual completely lost in the conversation.
'Yeah. It was big uhmm…was red…no it was blue…or was it white…and occasionally vomited fire…or was it water…nonono it was…uuurgh I give up' it was painful to watch him. But his painful thought process gave Hellan hints to what he was trying to say.
'Are you talking about the Nurr clan' Hellan was almost a hundred percent sure that the lizard in Shin's story was the dragon in legend that had given the Nurrs their blessing.
'I think that was his name' shin was looking at the bowl. 'Can I get this refilled? It's been a while since I've eaten' Hellan signalled for a maid who was busy dusting shelves. She came quickly and stood next to Hellan. She acknowledged her mistress and the half-naked man.
'Here. Bring us more snacks.' She handed the empty bowl to the maid who bowed her head and quickly left the study.
'Nurr is still alive?' Shin muttered something after asking his question. A mischievous smile could be seen on his face.
'I don't know which Nurr your referring to but the Nurrs are the now emperors of this land' There was no reverence in her tone when she spoke of this lands rulers. This was normal among the nobility. The Nurrs were just a name that has existed for far too long.
'Emperor' shin stroke his chin. 'What of the lizards?' Hellan was still not accustomed to how shin referred to dragons as lizards. Even among the higher beings, dragons were revered creators. Was he strong or was it arrogance?
'There hasn't been a dragon in this land ever since we untied as one court' Hellan answered Shin to the best of her abilities. 'But the Nurrs still have a powerful blessing.'
'Now that I think about it, why are they called Nurr?' He was talking to himself but Hellan took it as a question. A question she didn't understand.
'It's because it's their name' She said unsure of herself. Shin laughed to himself. The maid came back with a bowl filled with snacks, grapes, apples, nuts and other various different treats. Shin threw a treat into his mouth and chewed. He looked at Hellan then took the bowl and placed it on his belly.
'I knew a Nurr once' he mused. 'Snotty brat.' He chuckled happily. Hellan as usual was lost in the conversation, knowing little understanding nothing. So she only stared at the man who was busy wolfing the treats in his bowl.
'So emperor huh?' Shin had a mocking tone as he asked. 'I didn't notice a tone of reverence there. Not much respect going around huh?' It didn't take a great politician to notice how Hellan spoke about their rulers.
'Not plotting a coup are we? Maybe a revolution is cooking in the oven?' Shin's words were not so off. The current rulers were too corrupt to be left. At least the current one was. The nobles might appear aloof and not bothered but they were a cancerous growth in this country. An ambitious noble would stop at nothing to see his or her ambition fulfilled, and currently, there was an old king who so happens to have four children, three of which are princes. In an empire that had two kings serving under one emperor, countless nobles, enemies on all sides of their borders and vast natural resources. Yes, this empire was on the brink of destruction, the only thing barely keeping it together were the legends of the Nurr's guardians, and those were not doing their job as well as it used to.
'It can really be stopped' Hellan's words were truth. As things were now, it will take a miracle to keep a Nurr on the throne, if there will even be a throne to sit on. Shin sighed loudly.
'This will not do' He tapped the seat he was seated on. 'I assume your family plans to ally with you to be wed. What was his name again?'
'He is from the Keel clan…' Hellan didn't get to finish her sentence even though her face was brightening up when her fiancée was brought up. She was good at politics but she didn't like talking about it. It was all a game of who was the best liar. Of who was better at using people. It was a game that a powerless noble like Hellan had to learn if she wanted to survive. If you didn't have power to protect yourself then you should learn how to get people to fight for you.
'Keel clan you say?' Shin had a smile that didn't sit right with Hellan. She felt fear just by looking at his creepy smile. 'They walk the night don't they and they have a way with daggers and assassinations' Hellan looked at shin quietly. Shin threw a nut to his mouth and crushed it.
'It seems you know them well?' Hellan asked in a low tone. She could tell the man had some sort of grudge. Shin tossed a treat, his face and tone betraying nothing.
'I knew a keel once. Snotty brat that thought he was smart' He tossed another treat into his mouth. 'You cannot ally with them. I refuse' It wasn't a request, even though Shin was normal faced as he said this, still throwing a treat in his mouth.
'I don't have the ability to stop it.' The Cresworth family had plans that were years in the making, she couldn't just stop them now because Shin said so. 'Besides I am already betrothed to their clan master I can't just…'
'Enough of that' Shin put the bowl back on the table still half filled with snacks. Hellan kept her mouth shut. 'I have been out away for some time and the first time I reappeared, you shackled me.' He took the bowl and threw a grape in his mouth. 'You are a smart lady, how about you stop this childish games you mortals are playing'
'I don't have the ability to…'
'Fine. Then I'll do it myself' He stood up and pocketed and said while grinning wildly. 'This is going to be fun'
'…'
'My lady, your requested in the hall for dinner' A maid called for Hellan.
'Oooh diner wonder what we'll be having' Shin's smile grew wider. The maid wisely kept her head down. 'Come now Lanny we don't want to get late'